Hi everyone,
My name is Nicolette and I had been reading your post for a little while before finally registering and posting myself! I am 19 weeks pregnant (due date March 8th) and have been a vegan for a little over a year, it is great to find other moms eating the same healthy diet during pregnancy, thank you all for congregating in one place!

Well, because I haven't had much sleep recently and because life is so full right now, I'll keep this post to the nitty gritty!!

Thanks to everyone for the well wishes and thoughts for speedy labor! I think those were especially heeded as I went from irregular contractions, to water breaking, to pushing in less than 10 minutes.
I crawled on my hands and knees from the toilet where my water broke, to the water pool to give birth. I was determined to NOT give birth on the bathroom floor!! Anyway, she shot out of there and is perfect in every way!

Here are her details ::

Little Thea came into this world at approximately 2:34am, October 15th weighing 7lb & 9oz and measuring 20.5"
Her name is Theodora Ruby
apgars 10 & 10!!

She has good strong lungs, a full head of hair and nurses like a champ!
[xposted]

congratulations, cinnamongrl! what a fantastically quick labor! take care of yourself and that little one!

a little update... my placenta moved a good 6cm out of the way, so i should be in the clear for a good "normal" vaginal birth if everything else goes right. the ultrasound woman said that the little guy's head is "right down there", so that's another good thing to hear.

i'm so excited thinking about putting together the baby's room, but my husband won't be around to help me out for another two weeks. i have friends/co-workers who volunteered to help, but it's just not the same, ya know? i have a lot of other stuff that i really need to start thinking about, too - insurance for the little guy, maternity leave (how long we can afford for me to be without pay), how we're going to work out our schedules or figure out child care when i have to go back to work,... blah, blah, blah.

aaaanyway... overall things are going alright. i guess i'm just starting to freak out about things (being a first-time mom and all). i'm so impatient for the time to pass and for my little one to be here, but i know i should try to use the time to my advantage as much as possible while i have it.

So glad to find a home here on MDC. Super congrats to you, Cinnamongrl, for what sounds like an awesome (oh my how fast!) birth and a healthy little girl.

I am due June 10, 2010 and have been vegan for over a year now. Struggling a little with cravings for eggs...and filling my gullet with lots of soy-based replacements for meat and such. I plan to get back to my green foods eating once the M/S eases up a bit.

Anyone here cautious regarding soy-protein intake?

Vegan Momma to DD1 (4.5) and DD2 (1.5). Gardening, creating, cooking and hoping for a change of scenery soon!

So glad to find a home here on MDC. Super congrats to you, Cinnamongrl, for what sounds like an awesome (oh my how fast!) birth and a healthy little girl.

I am due June 10, 2010 and have been vegan for over a year now. Struggling a little with cravings for eggs...and filling my gullet with lots of soy-based replacements for meat and such. I plan to get back to my green foods eating once the M/S eases up a bit.

Anyone here cautious regarding soy-protein intake?

Welcome Onthetrail! Sorry I forgot to answer the soy question in your DDC.... I brought it up with my nurse midwife at my last visit. She recommended I keep the really processed stuff to a minimum, but told me I shouldn't worry about tofu that I cook into a dish myself (I eat a serving of tofu at least once a day.)

It's funny...about 3 years ago I'd buy tofu and it would sit in my fridge until it expired. Now, I know the subtle taste and texture differences in all the brands and will eat it plain or any other way I can come up with. My 2.5 yo loves it too.

Care to share your favorite ways to prepare it...fellow tofu junkie?

Vegan Momma to DD1 (4.5) and DD2 (1.5). Gardening, creating, cooking and hoping for a change of scenery soon!

On the topic of soy protein... I know it is falling out of vogue and I am not well informed on the topic, but personally I would take it with a grain of salt. Though I had supportive alternative caregivers with my 1st pregnancy the whole protein thing was pushed pretty hard. I ate way more processed soy protein than I ever would normally do. I certainly tried to have as varied and balanced a diet as possible but the reality of demands in my life and the push for protein was just too strong. DS was 7lb9oz at birth, today (still vegan) in the 80% for height and 10% for weight... I have a hard time seeing how it was detrimental to either of us. I doubt there is that much negative impact that will come from a short duration increase in soy protein. I am sure many others will disagree with my opinion and be more educated about it.

I will say that I am going to need to do some research and see how much of the basic protein pushing (of any kind) is founded.

My little bean is due April 14, 2010. I've been vegan for.. 15 years (had to do math).

I *love* tofu and so does DS!! Our favorite thing is to slice it, marinate it in olive oil and bragg's or tamari, and top it w/ nutritional yeast and bake it at 350 for about a half hour to forty minutes.. yum!!

Is anyone worried about their iron? Or did anyone have problems with their iron? Right now mine is low but still normal. My mw is kind of like "All vegans have problems with iron and if it gets to low you can't have a birth center birth" so I'm a little freaked out.. I drink a decent amount of nettle tea every day which I think is high in iron, and I was taking a supplement too but I'm not so good about remembering that.. I feel like my diet is pretty good in general- lots of beans and green veggies, and I'm going to start kelp soon too, so I hate to spend energy worrying about supplements..

These days I'm loving tofu tacos I buy extra firm tofu and freeze it and thaw it so it gets a "meatier" texture.... and then crumble it after it drains. Depending on how ambitious I am I'll make seasoning mix from scratch (there are tons of easy recipes that Google pulls up) or if I'm having a lazy day I'll just use a seasoning packet from Whole Foods. Add the seasonings once the tofu is a bit browned and cook for another minute or two... Our toppings really vary on what we have in the fridge that needs to get used up but my favorite toppings are a dab of tofutti sour cream, mild salsa, and avocado slices.

My mw is kind of like "All vegans have problems with iron and if it gets to low you can't have a birth center birth" so I'm a little freaked out..

Well that's one that I've never heard before! I take a prenatal with 100% RDA of iron (it's the Country Life brand w/the DHA from veganessentials.com)
and I try to cook on cast iron at any opportunity I get... along with eating greens when I can stomach them and tons of lentils. I haven't gotten my irons levels checked since getting pg (they were fineback in February when I got bloodwork done for it) but o far my nurse midwife hasn't made an issue of it.

I *love* tofu and so does DS!! Our favorite thing is to slice it, marinate it in olive oil and bragg's or tamari, and top it w/ nutritional yeast and bake it at 350 for about a half hour to forty minutes.. yum!!

Went out and stocked up on (more!) nutritional yeast today. That sounds sooo goood! Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by HoneybeeWaterfall

I doubt there is that much negative impact that will come from a short duration increase in soy protein.

The main reason I've been asking was because I'd heard (on VegFamily I believe) about hypospadias (a congenital defect of the male genitalia in which the opening is not at the tip of the penis) due to excessive intake of soy protein. After doing a little (very little) research, it seems that info came from only one study and disregarded an important factor, namely pesticides. They figured that the women were vegetarians and that was that, not mentioning that almost none ate organic produce!

I'm not really concerned about pushing protein either. That seems to be part of the SAD (Standard American Diet) that has no foundation in true health. Thanks for helping feel better about my choices!

What would we do without the internet?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jelinifer

These days I'm loving tofu tacos

Also picked up some taco seasoning!

I bet we could put together quite a cookbook...

Thanks for the inspiration!

Vegan Momma to DD1 (4.5) and DD2 (1.5). Gardening, creating, cooking and hoping for a change of scenery soon!

I plan on taking 3 flax oil caps a day and adding a scoop of hemp protein powder to any smoothies I make. I am taking a rainbow light prenatal and extra vitamin D because I live in Canada. This sounds ok, right. Any other tips for things I should add.